Turning Lemons Into Lemonade

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Category Archives: Parenting

Because it’s summer and there is no such thing as a school night, weekends don’t have to happen on the weekends. So Christopher and I had ourselves a pre-weekend, a preekend! The coolest thing about having a preekend with a 7-year old, is that you get to be a kid again! Yay!

Today, we were outside on our deck that I loved so much when we moved in here. It definitely was one of the biggest selling points. Christopher was coloring with sidewalk chalk and I was watching him, helping him occasionally. We were playing with the hula hoop, too.

I had grand plans for this outside area when we first moved in; wanted to turn it into an oasis with outside couches and twinkling lights and lots of greenery. Well, that never happened. It turned into what I call a German backyard. Continue reading →

In part one of this series, I talked about how I am teaching Christopher to practically help others less fortunate by donating to Goodwill. Today, we had our second installment of this process. Instead of purchasing something from Goodwill, we actually donated the clothing we had sifted through a while back.

Today wasn’t so painful for Christopher because he didn’t have to try on clothes for two hours, he “just” had to take them to the donation center. On our way to Goodwill, I asked Christopher if he remembered why we’re donating to Goodwill. Given that it’s been over a month since we had last been there to purchase something to support Goodwill’s cause, it’s understandable that he couldn’t remember. Continue reading →

It’s not a secret that learning a second language is quite beneficial in today’s global society. It’s also not a secret that the earlier you learn a language, the better you will be at it. German is an excellent language to learn, many parts of the world speak German.

With an estimated 95–100 millionnative speakers, German is one of the world’s major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union. Outside of Europe, the U.S. has the highest German speaking population, and Southern California has large German communities. So it is one of the best places (unless you’re in Germany, Austria or Switzerland) to learn German. Continue reading →

Just picture it: A little 5-year old girl stands in her front lawn selling lemonade a dollar a cup for a good cause. Happens everywhere, right? Yes, but THIS girl actually raised over $14,000 dollars this week. What’s so special about this? The house she stands in front of is rainbow colored.. and right across the street from Westboro Baptist Church. And she’s raising money for anti-bullying organizations in the local Topeka area. Westboro Baptist Church, you’ve met your match! Continue reading →

Before you start a business, you make a business plan, right? You plan your goals, you set your objectives and you figure out your strategies and tactics to achieve those goals. You make a budget and plan for eventualities. And then you work your butt off to implement those strategies in order to get to your goals. Because if you don’t make your goals, or at least come close, you’re going to lose your entire investment and your livelihood.

I want to start exploring how a business plan for your life can make or break your life, or at the very least make it better. Join me for a series in which I will explore pivotal areas of our lives from a “business angle” to make them better.Continue reading →

For a few years now, I’ve supported Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF). (And it’s actually not the reason why my tag line is “Turning lemons into lemonade” even though it totally fits here!) This organization is so special because it was actually founded by a little girl, Alex (hence the name). Alex was 1 year old in 1997, when she was diagnosed with cancer and she was 4 years old when she decided she wanted to host a lemonade stand to help her doctors help other children with cancer, too. During this first lemonade stand, Alex raised $2000!

A 4 Year Old Who Raised $1 Million
Her stated goal was to raise 1 million dollars. Her mom thought that was a completely insane number, but like a good mom, she let her little child dream. But this little girl was as dedicated to helping other children with cancer as she could be. When Alex passed away at the age of 8, she had raised over 1 million dollars for childhood cancer research with an army of people that helped her hold lemonade stands all over the country. Continue reading →